The Mystery Component of Goal-Setting

Goal setting is great. A basic notion of planning and timelines will help you get a long with your colleagues and project partners. They will appreciate if you can tell them what you want, till when you want it to be done and what steps are necessary to accomplish it.

Goal setting is a very social skill, actually. It helps you not to disappoint people. It makes you appear professional, efficient, motivated.

Contrary to pop lifestyle-coaching blogs, goal setting is not the one-size-fits-all magic bullet to personal happiness and success.

I’ve read it so many times, the old and beaten formula: “All you need to be truly happy and successful is to set goals and go for them.”

It’s a superficial approach to life.

Why?

Simple.

Life doesn’t work according to your plans.

Everyone with a bit of life experience knows that the best things always happen out of the blue, they surprise you, catch you completely unprepared like the proverbial “rabbit in the headlights”.

You don’t schedule to fall in love.

You don’t make reservations for a “eureka!” moment. It comes when you least expect it and whacks you over the head.

Am I suggesting to drop all plans and planning and become a fuzzy, disorganized slob?

No. Like I said: If you want to have relationships to other people, this is not a good idea.

Experiment with setting goals, deadlines and steps required.

Then, when life comes and crosses all your plans with a red marker, don’t be a control freak!